Toronto @ Ottawa preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 16, 2019 ) Toronto 2, Ottawa 6

The Toronto Maple Leafs aren't looking much like a playoff team of late, with a demoralizing 6-2 setback to the NHL-worst Ottawa Senators highlighting a disastrous 3-4-2 mark in their last nine contests. The Maple Leafs bid to even their season series with their provincial rival at two victories apiece on Saturday night when they visit Canada's capital city.

Toronto star forward Auston Matthews, who has two goals and two assists in the season series against Ottawa, had one of each in Wednesday's 5-4 shootout loss to Philadelphia to establish a career high with 71 points on the season. Ontario native John Tavares also has two goals and as many assists against the Senators, as the 28-year-old scored and set up a goal in the Maple Leafs' 5-4 victory on Feb. 6 as well as a 6-2 setback in Ottawa on March 16. Magnus Paajarvi tallied twice in both contests for the cellar-dwelling Senators, who had won four of six before dropping a 5-2 decision to Florida on Thursday. Defenseman Thomas Chabot, who has set up five goals in his last four games played, has three goals and an assist in two meetings with Toronto.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, CBC, Sportsnet1, Sportsnet Ontario, TVAS2

ABOUT THE MAPLE LEAFS (45-25-7): A Toronto defense that is hemorrhaging an NHL-high 4.33 goals per game since March 11 received some good news as blue-liner Travis Dermott is expected to return on Saturday from a 14-game absence due to a shoulder injury. "I've been taking my time working hard every day with the strength guys and sport science guys," the 22-year-old Dermott said on Friday. "I'm pretty happy to be back at this point and am looking forward to that first game back." Fellow defenseman Jake Gardiner, who has been sidelined 15 games with a back injury, skated on his own Friday, with coach Mike Babcock telling reporters that he'll skate with his teammates on Saturday morning.

ABOUT THE SENATORS (27-44-6): Brady Tkachuk netted his fourth goal in five games on Thursday to reach the 20-goal plateau, tying Alexandre Daigle (1993-94) for the franchise's single-season goal-scoring record by a teenager. The 19-year-old Tkachuk, who was the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, also registered 12 shots on goal versus the Panthers to match Jason York's single-game franchise record set on Jan. 30, 1999. "Tkachuk was sensational," interim head coach Marc Crawford said. "That's as good a game I've seen from anybody, let alone a rookie, this year."

OVERTIME

1. Toronto RW William Nylander has 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 13 games during the month of March.

2. Ottawa's Max Lajoie will undergo season-ending sports hernia surgery while fellow D Erik Brannstrom is considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury.

3. The Maple Leafs' eighth-ranked power play is just 1-for-15 in the last five games.

PREDICTION: Maple Leafs 5, Senators 1